Tag Archives: Rosary

In the words of her sister, “Violeta has cancer in her blood”. Only six years old and a beautiful little girl, these events remind me again that He is God and I am not, as it doesn’t make sense to me. Still we trust in the Lord and do all we can to help. (See the Litany of Trust from two weeks ago if you need help there.)

We are praying for Violeta. Several things have converged together as we learned of Violeta’s illness:

Cece, who assists in our school, suggested we pray to St. Jacinta. (Cece’s suggestion reminds me of the young girl in the story of Naaman the leper who suggests the army general go to the prophet in Samaria to be healed. (2 Kings 5: 1-13) I love it when the little among us have great ideas on which we take action.)

Jacinta is one of the three children of Fatima. She along with her brother Francisco will be canonized in a few weeks on May 13, the 100th anniversary of Our Lady’s appearance in Fatima.

Jacinta was a six year old girl who was ill, much like Violeta.

Jacinta was Portuguese, Violeta is Hispanic; they even look a bit alike!

And the clincher for me, which came after the other realizations……Violeta’s last name is Jacinto!

And so we pray often. Each day at the closing announcements we pray, “For Violeta, St. Jacinta, Intercede for her,” three times. The children are also praying in their families and classrooms, as are the faculty and many adults.

Helping is taking the form of prayer and action. The Student Council members are getting white bracelets with orange lettering, the colors of Leukemia Awareness. They will say, “Team Violeta” on one side and “St. Jacinta, Intercede for her!” on the other. They are teaming up with the Rosary Makers for a package deal, or will also offer an ala carte option, I would imagine.

The Rosary Makers have gone mad; mad as in making rosaries like crazy and marketing them for the cause, even faster than they can make them. Taking orders for specific colors has allowed them to manage the flow. The girls who channeled the rosary-making efforts in the sixth grade toward helping Violeta are clearly evidencing the feminine genius in their desire to help, as well as organizing the project and carrying it through. Sister Mary Guadalupe hardly knew what she was starting when a few months ago she offered to teach anyone who wanted to learn how to tie the knots.

After the children launched the rosary-making for Violeta, and Sister was placing yet another order for rosary rope, we wondered if the twine makers might be willing to join in the work of charity. Sister sent the following email:

Praised be Christ our King! What high quality twine and beautiful colors you provide for our rosary making! A few of us, Sisters, have been making rosaries for several years, and your company has become the “go to” place for the best materials. This year I taught my 6th grade students to make the knotted rope rosaries and many (about 40 out of 61) have become rather proficient making them. Since January, I have placed 2 orders for 10 spools of twine and many of my students have ordered on their own as well. We run out quickly each time. This morning two of my students had an inspiration that they would like to help one of our kindergartners (who was diagnosed with leukemia last week) and her family by selling some of the rosaries that they have made (and will make) as a fundraiser. They also want to make rosaries for children in the missions through the Holy Father’s Missionary Childhood Association. Would you consider assisting with this project by donating some twine or giving us a discounted price, or maybe even free shipping? We would be grateful for any assistance that you would be able to give and are grateful for the resources you provide to spread the kingdom of God through the rosary. Recently I had to limit the children to taking only one rope to tie at a time, as they have become rosary-making maniacs. The troubles we have some days are not what one might think! Thank you and God bless you!

In His Love,

Sister Mary Guadalupe

The response of Twine By Design:

Good Afternoon Sister Mary. After explaining your needs to our President of Twine By Design, he would like to make a donation of the twine. Please email us your order instead of going through the website. It is so wonderful that your students are interested in doing this as a fund raiser to help the other student and their family. I am so sorry the youngster is ill. I could not imagine having to go through that at all.

Thank you and God Bless,

Twine By Design Customer Service

Then a little later they added:

Hi Sister Mary, I wanted to also maybe make a suggestion, I don’t know which colors you were interested in, but we do have the option of making some or all of them the Leukemia Awareness colors (orange and white). We were not sure how much you were looking at having donated, but we can mix and match if you want certain colors that are on our website and if you wanted the Leukemia Awareness colors we would be willing to make you some of that as well. Please let us know exactly what you would like and we will get it together for you.

Thank you again,

Twine By Design Customer Service

What a beautiful response from the company! That’s http://twinebydesign.blogspot.com/ if you want to support them, a good number of our kids are launching off on making their own rosaries.

Thank you for your prayers for Violeta. She is doing considerably better and is in the midst of a four-week round of chemotherapy in Omaha at Children’s Hospital. If you’d like a rosary or to contribute to a fund for Violeta email to office@stpeterslincoln.com. or send a note to school.

Sixth graders are on fire. They have made hundreds of cord rosaries and it appears we are still early in the process. Eighth grade Giana Girls are also engaging in the process. Even some fourth graders have gotten involved. Sister Mary Guadalupe is the main instigator, and she is willing to teach a new Rosary Devotee how to tie a knot any chance she gets.

This week a small group of sixth graders came to me with a charitable request. One of our kindergartners has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. The girls, some of whom have very close associations with leukemia in their own families, wanted to help that kindergartner and her family. They’d like to market their rosaries for her. I love how their hearts that are making the connection that we could do this to help another. The boys will be helping, too, but this core group has a good dose of the feminine genius that we will fan into flame. They have the green light from me to proceed with their plan. They have a strategy for posters as well as a time and place to engage not only the school community, but also our parish and a couple other parishes. Some have also begun to reach out to their family members. The leadership ability of these young people is growing, as is their charity to those in need.

We have been communicating with the cord manufacturers to see if they, too, would like to contribute to our cause. I’m wondering who they think is on the other end of the communique. Sisters in their 80s are a grace for the Church (someday I hope to be one), but that is not the “Rosary Makers” of today, here at our school!

Just yesterday a few eighth graders proposed a project to promote solidarity and prayer for the same intention…more on that next week. In the meantime, join us in prayer for that little one and her family. Many of our children have “tied one on” literally. May they tie Rosary knots for charity and the good of the Mystical Body with regularity throughout their lives.

Yesterday’s Living Rosary, where students are the beads, was delightful in its simplicity. In the St. Peter tradition of the Living Rosary, the third graders surround the sanctuary of the church making the shape of the rosary.

Hail Mary!

My Turn!

9th Hail Mary

When the prayer is being prayed that corresponds to their “bead” the child raises a flower high in the air.

Announcing the Mysteries and Meditations

Members of the class led an introduction to each decade and led the prayers from the microphone. There is a noble simplicity to the event, which the third graders carry out without a catch. I noticed as they entered the church that the teachers had prepared them exceptionally well. The children waited in line and entered at the prescribed intervals without any teacher intervention. We can “put” kids where we want them, but how much better when we can help them learn the process and then carry it out on their own. For those of you there yesterday, did you notice the teachers? Neither did I, they were invisible in the “final draft”. Well done students and Mrs. Valaika and Mrs. Svoboda.

Don’t Miss the Tip Toes

Closing Prayers of the Rosary

As the third grade classes prepared, one of the teachers shared a story from one of the families who lives very close to the church. How beautiful when eight and nine year olds are asking their parents, may I go up to the church and pray a Rosary. They sometimes also ask, “Can we pray the Rosary as a family tonight?”

Each October we send Rosaries home with each family along with “How to Pray the Rosary” pamphlets. Here the fourth graders just received their packets for the day to take home. We have three or four different rosaries in each packet, large and small, various colors and shaped beads. The children enjoy seeing what type of rosaries are in their packet, as well as what is in their neighbors packet.

One of our older students came to school with a delightful story from home. With a huge smile hardly repressing the laughter she says, “The other night we were praying the rosary and Jamie, my four year old sister, was leading and at the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, she says, ‘The Scourging at the Caterpillar!’ We practically rolled on the floor laughing. My little sister didn’t get it at all and got pretty ticked off at us for laughing.”

I, too, thoroughly enjoyed the story, but my enjoyment went beyond the humor as I considered the situation. Here we have a family that prays the rosary often enough that the four year old can not only lead, but knows the Sorrowful Mysteries! That speaks to the consistency of prayer and formation in that home. (I’m not going to tell you how old I was when I learned the Mysteries. My age had a 4 in it, and that’s about where the similarities end.)

I also delighted in the excitement with which the older sibling shared that scene from home. She wasn’t afraid to let her peers know they prayed the Family Rosary, nor was she excessively proud. That was the setting of the story and necessary background for understanding the humor involved. It was as though the story was from something that happens everywhere. The humor of the story made me happy on the outside. Reflection on the story and all that happened in the making and telling of it also gave me joy deep within. I am reminded of the Gospel Joy Pope Francis speaks of in his document by that name “Evangelii Gaudium”.

Your families continue to inspire and amaze me. Thanks for the blessings. We try to do a little of the same for you here at school. May God bless us in the formation of our children!

(Names in the story above have been changed. It is shared with permission. These beautiful kids in the picture at school are two years OLDER than Jamie in the story!)